) 


The  Story  of  Mary  Reed 


Missionary  to  the  Lepers 


PRICE  TWO  CENTS 


Woman  s  Foreign  Missionary  Society ,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
j6  Bromfield  Street ,  Boston ,  Mass. 


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i  THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED  1 

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MISSIONARY  TO  THE  LEPERS 


THE  STORY  of  Mary  Reed,  with  its  high  appeal  to  the  heroic  that  is 
latent  in  all  noble  souls,  has  been  told  on  more  than  one  occasion,  and 
been  the  means  of  enlisting  devoted  service  and  generous  giving  to  the 
work  of  the  Kingdom.  Painful  as  the  publicity  has  been  to  the  sensitive  soul 
of  this  brave  missionary,  she  has,  nevertheless,  had  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  her  bravery  and  sweetness  of  spirit,  under  conditions  such  as  no  one  not  simi¬ 
larly  afflicted  could  appreciate,  have  been  the  source  of  untold  inspiration  to 
hundreds  whom  she  will  never  see  during  her  earthly  life. 

She  was  sent  to  India  in  1884  by  the  Cincinnati  Branch  of  the  Woman’s 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Her  work 
was  first  in  Cawnpore  but  as  the  climate  proved  unfavorable  to  her  health 
she  was  transferred  to  Gonda.  In  1890  she  returned  home  for  her  first  fur¬ 
lough,  and  the  following  year,  while  an  inmate  in  Christ’s  Hospital,  Cincinnati — 
where  she  had  undergone  a  critical  surgical  operation — she  was  obliged  to  give 


THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


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serious  attention  to  a  peculiar  and  troublesome  sore  that  appeared  on  the  end  of 
her  right  forefinger. 

Several  physicians  examined  it,  but,  as  they  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  sort 
before,  it  was  not  regarded  as  dangerous.  As  it  continued  to  be  troublesome, 
however,  amputation  was  finally  suggested.  One  day  while  lying  in  bed,  Miss 
Reed  was  listlessly  tapping  the  counterpane  with  her  finger,  as  a  relief  to  the  dull 
pain  that  she  had  felt  for  some  time,  and  thinking  of  God’s  dealings  with  her  in 
her  past  life,  when  suddenly,  and  so  distinctly  that  she  could  not  misunderstand 
it,  the  conviction  came  to  her — -almost  as  if  a  voice  had  spoken : 

“The  trouble  with  your  finger  is  leprosy;  you  must  return  to  India  and  go  at 
once  to  the  leper  asylum  at  Pithoragarh,  and  devote  the  rest  of  your  life  to  teach¬ 
ing  the  lepers.  ”  A  vision  of  the  distant  mountain  asylum  that  has  since  been  her 
home  flashed  before  her,  and  although  such  a  thought  had  never  entered  her  mind 
previously,  and  she  had  no  recollection  of  ever  having  been  exposed  to  the  disease, 
from  that  moment  she  never  wavered  as  to  the  work  that  God  was  calling  her  to 
do. 

When  she  gave  the  hospital  surgeon  her  diagnosis,  he  would  not  believe  her, 
and  endeavored  to  persuade  her  that  the  case  could  not  be  so  serious  as  she  sup¬ 
posed.  He  promised  to  look  it  up  carefully  in  his  medical  books,  however,  and 


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THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


report  to  her  the  following  day.  A  glance  at  his  face  when  he  next  visited  her, 
and  his  distress  of  mind,  showed  that  he  had  been  convinced  against  his  will. 
Leprosy  is  not  a  disease  with  which  American  surgeons  are  likely  to  become 
familiar,  however,  and  although  two  physicians  of  high  standing  corroborated 
Miss  Reed’s  Hew,  all  felt  that  no  chances  should  be  taken  and  that  more  than 
“book  knowledge”  should  be  obtained.  She  was  therefore  quietly  sent  to  New 
York,  to  a  physician  who  had  spent  some  time  in  the  West  Indies  studying  the 
disease,  and  who  was  regarded  as  an  authority  in  the  United  States.  He  con¬ 
firmed  the  decision  already  reached,  but  his  sympathies  were  so  keenly  enlisted 
that  he  gave  Miss  Reed  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Sir  Joseph  Frayer,  of  London, 
the  most  eminent  authority  on  Indian  diseases  in  the  world. 

Miss  Reed  bravely  made  her  plans  for  a  speedy  return  to  India,  sustained  by 
the  power  from  on  high  that  is  always  in  reserve  when  hard  experiences  must  be 
lived  through.  And  surely  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  more  “fiery 
trial”  than  that  of  being  smitten  with  the  disease  that  is  perhaps  most  dreaded 
of  any  in  the  world.  Suffering  like  hers  must  largely  be  borne  alone,  yet  there 
were  those  in  the  home  circle  who  must  share  in  it,  and  Miss  Reed  determined 
that  she  would  spare  them  the  painful  knowledge  until  after  her  departure. 

She  therefore  wrote  home  that  she  had  decided  to  return  to  India  immediately, 


THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


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and  during  her  farewell  visit  she  told  her  mother  casually  that  for  a  special  reason 
she  had  formed  the  resolve  never  to  kiss  any  one  again,  and  that  she  hoped  it 
would  not  seem  strange  if  she  should  go  away  without  a  good-bye  kiss.  The 
mother  asked  no  questions,  supposing  that  there  must  be  sufficient  reason  for 
this  singular  resolve,  but  it  was  hard  to  persuade  her  that  her  daughter  should 
return  so  soon,  while  her  health  was  still  only  partly  restored.  It  was  not  until 
the  arrival  of  the  letter,  sent  after  Miss  Reed  had  reached  India,  that  the  mother 
learned  the  sad  story  and  knew  the  quality  of  her  daughter’s  courage. 

When  her  preparations  were  completed,  Miss  Reed  quietly  left  her  home,  as 
if  she  were  merely  going  to  call  on  a  neighbor,  having  disclosed  only  to  one  sister, 
whom  she  pledged  to  secrecy,  the  reason  for  her  hasty  departure.  Happily,  it 
was  not  the  last  time  that  she  was  to  see  that  home,  but  she  had  no  such  hope  in 
her  heart  then,  and  her  heroism  has  thrilled  all  who  have  heard  her  storv.  On 
shipboard  her  sweet,  sad  face  and  gentle  manner  attracted  attention,  and  won 
her  a  friendship  that  was  a  great  comfort  during  the  first  part  of  the  hard  journey; 
but,  after  all,  it  was  her  sense  of  sharing  in  the  fellowship  of  Christ’s  sufferings 
that  sustained  her  and  that  has  glorified  her  work  through  all  the  years  that  have 
followed. 

The  London  specialist  made  a  most  careful  examination,  but  his  decision  was 


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THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


the  same  as  that  of  the  other  physicians.  He  supplied  her,  however,  with  the 
latest  remedies  and  a  few  monographs  on  the  subject  of  leprosy  that  have  since 
been  of  value  to  her.  Hoping  that  he  might  be  mistaken,  he  also  gave  her  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  a  noted  physician  in  Bombay,  who  had  seen  leprosy  all 
his  life,  and  made  her  promise  that  she  would  be  examined  by  him  before  going  to 
the  leper  colony.  This  she  did,  but  the  Bombay  physician  was  most  emphatic  in 
pronouncing  her  disease  to  be  leprosy. 

When  the  world  heard  the  story  the  keenest  interest  was  excited  and  tidings 
of  Mary  Reed  were  eagerly  sought.  Quietly  and  calmly  she  entered  at  once  upon 
her  work,  and,  as  if  to  test  her  faith  in  the  certainty  of  her  call,  the  disease  for  a 
time  made  painful  progress.  She  had  no  assurance  that  it  would  be  stayed t 
although  constant  prayer  in  her  behalf  was  offered  by  countless  friends,  made 
such  by  sympathy  and  belief  in  the  power  of  “prayer  in  faith.  ”  For  a  long  time 
the  reports  that  came  from  Chandag  Heights,  where  her  little  bungalow  is  located, 
dealt  chiefly  with  the  growing  work  and  the  patience  and  bravery  of  this  suffer¬ 
ing  missionary.  Friends  visited  her,  but  she  ate  at  her  own  table  and  took  every 
precaution  to  prevent  infection.  What  her  mental  and  spiritual  suffering  must 
have  been  no  one  was  permitted  to  see. 

Then  came  reports  that  the  disease  had  been  stayed;  then,  that  improvement 


THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


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was  marked.  Now,  the  testimony  of  missionary  friends  is  that  she  moves  freely 
among  them  and  that  “all  feel  that  she  is  perfectly  well.  ”  The  sceptical  say  that 
a  mistake  must  have  been  made  in  the  original  diagnosis,  but  with  five  physicians 
of  high  standing,  each  convinced  against  his  will,  and  three  of  them  specialists,  a 
statement  of  this  sort  is  hardly  credible.  Those  who  believe  in  divine  power  and 
the  value  of  special  intercession  are  convinced  that  Mary  Reed  has  been  healed 
because  of  the  great  volume  of  prayer  that  has  ascended  in  her  behalf. 

In  1903  Miss  Reed  left  her  work  for  a  furlough  that  lasted  three  years,  part  of 
the  time  being  spent  in  the  Holy  Land.  During  this  period  she  had  the  great 
happiness  of  visiting  her  home  once  more,  remaining  about  a  month.  Her  visit, 
however,  was  kept  as  quiet  as  possible. 

She  returned  to  her  work  in  November,  1906,  joyfully  taking  up  again  the 
ministry  to  which  she  has  devoted  her  life.  The  leper  asylum  of  which  she  is 
superintendent  is  controlled  and  supported  by  the  Scotch  Leper  Mission,  but  at 
their  request  Miss  Reed  is  a  regularly  appointed  missionary  of  the  society  by 
which  she  was  first  sent  out.  Under  her  wise  planning  the  mission  plant,  which 
occupies  about  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  has  been  carefully  and  systematically 
developed,  until  now  it  comprises  separate  homes  for  men  and  women  patients, 
quarters  for  treatment  of  the  different  stages  of  the  disease,  and  a  hospital, 


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THE  STORY  OF  MARY  REED 


dispensary  and  chapel.  She  has  an  average  of  eighty  men  and  women  under 
her  care. 

No  one  can  estimate  the  value  of  her  sympathetic  ministry  to  the  souls  and 
bodies  of  the  afflicted  ones  sent  to  her  for  help.  Surely  if  the  quality  of  service 
is  measured  by  its  difficulty  and  its  cost  in  heroic  sacrifice  of  self,  the  name  of 
Mary  Reed  will  have  a  high  place  on  the  roll  of  those  who  have  “counted  not  their 
lives  dear  unto  themselves.  ” 


